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Thursday, March 20, 2014

How to: Use Peonies at a Party

I was recently part of a conversation with gardeners who do not like peonies.

I was surprised, perhaps shocked to realize that peonies are not universally loved.

I agree that they can be messy in the garden.

But, peonies grow so easily and come back every year. Their roots will survive this endless Winter with 70 days of sub-zero temperatures. The peonies will bloom again.

Last Summer Grandma Nola and I picked peonies just before they were about to burst into bloom and stashed them in a refrigerator. Other gardeners allowed my daughters to cut their peonies as well. We needed lots of peonies.

We paired them with baby's breath which we bought from the local florist.

We put peonies in old jars.

The peonies looked lovely in an old candy jar with the cover taped onto the back.

Peonies look fabulous in old bottles.

Peonies and baby's breath dressed up Field Hand Joe's old pop bottle collection.

In fact we thought the peonies were beautiful in every container wherever it was.

The best part about the peonies was that they grew in the gardens in and around GriggsDakota.

we had a row of red pink and white along one side of the garden in monango north dakota where i grew up. a very large garden. lol. and i was fascinated by the sugar ants that pollinated them. such a heavenly fragrance. itchy though. it was my job to tie them up with twine and a stake so they didn't fall over into the dirt. you do lovely arrangements ms. griggs!